My Summer Adventure

In spite of my unpredictable state of health, I took a leap of faith and embarked on a ten day road trip to Idaho and Utah to visit family. I really needed to meet my grandson who is all ready seven months old.  I had no idea what to expect stamina wise from my body.  I was pleasantly surprised.  My husband was prepared with a book on tape that made the long stretches of desert road less monotonous.  Ariana had a few books she was avidly looking forward to reading along with her ipod that kept her quite happy as well.

We started our visiting in Pocatello, Idaho at Tracy's parents house. Then went south to Syracuse, Utah to visit my mom and two of my brothers.  Two days before we were to depart California on our trip we were informed that my grandmother passed away.  She was 96 and this was expected.  The funeral had been scheduled during the week of our visit so I was very grateful to be a part of that.  Before the day of the funeral we drove south again to Lehi, Utah and spent a few days with my oldest daughter, Nichole, and her family.

Look how much snow is on the mountains in the middle of July! This was taken from her backyard.

We ordered pizza in and watched a movie the first night and just relaxed and talked.  Before dinnertime, Nichole set up the slip n slide for Brielle.  Aunt Ariana got her suit on and joined in the water fun with her niece.  Brielle copied everything that Ariana did......................

Brielle did not like me taking her picture.

Here's my little sweet cheeks, Beckham happy as always.

The following day we spent a few fun hours at the Linden Aquatics Center. What an amazing place!

It's nestled at the foot of the mountains just like everything in this part of Utah.

A swimming pool river complete with current.

Tracy and Ariana and Brielle in the background with her daddy, Chase.

The following day we said goodbye to Nichole and her family and drove north to spend the day with family from all over the country and to attend my grandma's funeral.  The family name is McDowell; it's Scottish.  It was so glorious for me seeing all my aunts, uncles, and cousins that I love so much.  There are a lot of us and we filled the chapel and then the cultural hall for a family luncheon.  My grandma was an amazing woman!

My mom spoke along with a few of her siblings.  She's nervous speaking in front of people but she did an amazing job and I was so impressed and proud of her.  We then departed south again to the Salt Lake City cemetery for the gravesite dedication. One of my uncles plays the bagpipes and had four other members of the Utah Pipe Band there to play the Scottish Rites, and other tunes like Scotland the Brave and Amazing Grace.

My mom and me before the dedication taking a much needed rest.

Members of the pipe band warming up.

My Uncle Gill and Aunt Ar from Florida. They are always so fun to see.  Ar is always proud to note that she is an Orthodox Jew among all these Mormons. Love you, Ar.

Some of the McDowell clan waiting.

The Pallbearers- left to right.  Gill McDowell wearing the family tartan, my cousin Neal Davis, my cousin Steve Davis, my cousin Ranch McDowell, my brother Brian Hill, my cousin Darren Ottley, and my uncle Chuck McDowell also wearing the family tartan.

All of my grandma's children except Chuck who was waiting to the side ready to play the bagpipes. Seated left to right- Gilbert, Joyce, Margaret, Martha, Elaine, and Annette.

My uncle Chuck playing Amazing Grace for his mother.
I love you grandma.

That same evening we stayed with my dad and stepmom in downtown Salt Lake City.  Towards the evening we joined my brother Scott and most of his family and hiked the 1/2 mile trail to the top of Ensign Peak which overlooks the city on the north side.  I still can't believe I did it.  We watched the sun set at the top with a lot of other people.  It was beautiful.  This is where I was born and raised. It will always feel like home.  Thanks Dad for believing I could do it.

The Salt Lake valley.  You can see state street going all the way out.

I zoomed in to pick out the temple.  Can you see it on the left?

Even on a rocky, desert mountain I can still find a flower.

Looking toward the Great Salt Lake.

My brother, Scott and some of his boys.

At  this point Ariana was tired of pictures.

I love this one.

This beautiful sunset rivals those on the California coast.

 The next day was Sunday and we attended church with my dad at their ward which meets in the Joseph Smith Memorial building on the corner of State Street and South Temple.  It's a beautiful old building with intricate carvings in the details of the architecture and a splendid pipe organ. They usually have 100+ visitors on these holiday weekends.  The next day was Pioneer Day, a state holiday.  One of the reasons for our trip was to see the Days of 47 Parade.  It's the largest parade in the Western United States.  I grew up with this tradition so I felt like a kid again.  We got to sit on the 4th story balcony of one of my dad's neighbors overlooking South Temple.  There were hundreds of missionaries mingling with the crowd. 

The floats lined up down South Temple.  We were seated right at the starting point of the parade route.

They always start the parade with the motorcycle policemen.  Can you hear my dad you-whoin?

The weather cooperated very nicely.  It was overcast and cool throughout the parade.  

I'm always amazed at the creative ingenuity of parade floats.

When there was a lull in the flow of floats my camera wandered.

This news helicopter hovered above us for a few minutes.

What would a parade be without clowns?

A portion of the Utah Pipe Band is visible getting ready to perform. They are what I had been waiting to see. My uncle is there somewhere.

Downtown Salt Lake City is so beautiful I just had to capture some of it.

 

When I was a girl this was the tallest building in downtown SLC.

A fitting patriotic view.

All in all it was a fun and fulfilling experience for me.  I'm so glad I made the effort and so thankful to my husband for all of his help along the way.  He took care of me so carefully the entire trip.

When we got home, we had a newly finished tiled kitchen waiting for us.  Thanks to my talented and generous son-in-law, Chad for the skill and to my son, Cody, who gave up a Saturday also to help.  I love it.

And to top it off, the day after we got home, our air conditioning unit went out.  I guess we can't have our cake and eat it too.  The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.........  we'll have a new one installed hopefully within a few weeks.  I hope you all had at least one adventure this summer.